42.3% are content with their fitness level Yes but better is always good

CONCLUSIONSI am older and taller. No surprise there.I lack experience but race more then average. Living in California does help with the racing part. Experience..well I am way below average on that one!!!-------------------

Yesterday I did my long run. My second 9 miles on my plan. I did a little faster this time. I am happy with both these runs. I easily stayed under the McMillan pace suggested for me for LR. I ran negative splits. I drank more and did not have any problems.

For those 2 runs I went with this plan for fuel:

No coffee before running and I only drank water with small bowl of dry cereals.

If I had longer to go I would have taken the salt tablets at mile 9. The salt was all over my skin when I came home. I could feel and see it.

My last 2 LR have been great because I had a partner. Rebekah, my babysitter is now joining me for about 6 miles of my LR. This is GREAT. I love having her with me. First, it goes by faster. Also I run faster with her there. Mentally it makes a huge difference. I still struggle with the mental part of the LR. I know the pace is good because I can talk to her and not be out of breath. She is training for Long Beach so she will stick with me! She told me she started running because of me and that I inspire her. That is always nice to hear right? Her dad is an experienced runner and she got some of his talent for sure. I am sure she will be WAITING for me at the finish line in LB!!!

I signed up for that 5k race next weekend!

Last week of summer vacation for my boys....am I sad?NO.

Will have a lot of free time...a work at home job would be good for me now. Any of you work from home? What do you do?

Thursday, July 28, 2011

This has been a good training week so far for me.Allergies are not so bad that helps a lot and it is not AS hot as last week...well in the early morning at least..after 11 am it is over 95.

Today I had speedwork. I did 11x400s. That is the most reps I have done so far. According to McMillian I should be between 2:08 and 2:15. Today I did 2:11 and 2:10. I am making progress A month ago I was at 2:15.

Last weekend at my 10k race I picked up a bunch of flyers for all kind of races in the LA area. One was for a new RnR Half Marathon in Indian Wells, on NEW YEAR'S EVE! How cool! I have never done a RnR and I would love to run one, they look like so much fun! Indian Wells would be a good place for us, Bill's dad lives in Palm Springs so we could have seen him at the same time...but....Yep there is a but...when I went to look it up and I saw the fees I thought I had read that wrong but no...$175!!! For a HALF! That is way too much for me! I am not good enough to justify that !! And I thought Disneyland was expensive!!

Since my last race, I have been thinking about signing up for a 5k race on August 6th. The race is just 30 minutes away, for California that is super close!!! They have a kids race and my boys would love to do it. At my 10k last week I ran the first 5k faster then my best 5k in a race (very stupid I know) and so now I want to do a 5k to see where I am at with that distance. I would still do my long run next week. The race is on Saturday and I would do my 10 miles on Sunday. I have to make up my mind soon before registration close!!!

7 more followers until I get to 150! That is pretty cool!I think I will do a giveaway when I get there! Yes Chris, with lavender candle!!!!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Thank you to all of you who left comments on my last post. Made me feel better about being so mad at that cop!!! :)

Week 6 of my half marathon training plan is in the past. This means I am half way done. This is the 3rd time I use this plan and this time it is going by really fast. This was another week on the TM for the week days.

Week 6Mon: 4 milesTue: nothing: My son was sick :(Wed: 5 milesThu: 5 miles: Speedwork: 5x800s. This was my first time doing 800s, those are hard.Fri: RestSat: 10k race report ishereSun: 4 miles recovery runTOTAL: 24 Miles.-----------------------Ok now more answers to your questions!A lot of you have participated in this Q&A thing and I have enjoyed reading all of your posts. This is an interesting way to get to know the bloggers!

This is part 4 for me.Part 1 herePart 2 herePart 3 with video of me talking if you are curious about my New York accent go here.

- Big Daddy Diesel asked... With Gordie Howe being the best player of all time, followed by Wayne then Yzerman, make your dream team, 2 forwards, center, 2 dmen, and a goalie minus the above players.

All right mister. First this was one of my favorite question. For those of you who don't care about hockey or don't know anything about hockey: first I feel sorry for you, you are missing out, second BDD is so wrong, Wayne Gretzky IS the best player of all time.So I thought a lot about this one, so many great ones to pick from, right?Here are my choices

Who did you cheer for in the Gold medal hockey game? Please..I will always cheer for the best team in the world!!!! What a great game this was and a great day for Canada. Crosby was an instant national hero!!!

Do you like poutine?Love Poutine! Sadly I cannot eat poutine anymore because of my health problems. It sucks!

You've lived in Cali for a while now...huh or eh?Neither. French Canadians don't say Eh. We say "la" a lot or "en" at the end of sentences " Ben la c'est vrai ca, "en" Anne?". I do say it when I speak English also and I get a lot of bizarre looks!

Is your son Will named after someone? (My son's name is Will too. He's named after my husband's dad, who goes by Bill. But I like Will better.) I always wanted a son and I always said I would name him William, this was way before meeting my husband. Then I met my husband and his name is Bill. I don't get why people named William go by Bill. It makes no sense to me, ruins a beautiful name. Anyway we decided that we would name our son William and that he would go by Will and or William but never Bill. They have different middle name. My son is William Patrick. He is the 4th William in the family.What's the best part about blogging? That is easy. The people. I get great support and advices because of my blog. I learned a lot from the ones who are more experienced, from others I get motivation. I like reading stories about people who ran their first marathon, they make me believe that I could do it too.

CK: " You know I am really scared of doing that abs contest with Emz, she will woop my butt" Me: "I know, what were you thinking?" CK: "I wasn't, that's the problem" Me: "So how bad is it?" CK "Well there is no 6 packs, it's more like a 2 packs and even that is pushing it a bit"

and

CK: "I am on team Edward but don't tell anyone I really did read the ALL Twilight books OK, it is TOP Secret" Me "Who is Edward?"

What would you do w/$10k ? My dad is from Hungary. He never got the chance to go back with his kids because he could not enter the country because of the communist regime. When politics changed in Hungary and he was allowed to go back we were already in College so we never went with him. So all this to say that I would take my dad and my family to Hungary and make his dream come true while there is still time.How long was your engagement to Bill?3 weeks

Jim ... 50after40askedOkay, I have a serious question and something I have never understood. As a French-Canadien, do you feel more of an allegiance to France or Canada? For example, there are a ton of Irish families in the Boston area, but I think most of them would have an allegiance to the United States first, but with a fondness of thier Irish heritage. Is that similar to how French-Canadiens view Canada? I've just always been curious about that.To Canada not to France. For me, it is all about where people were born. I always find it amusing when people say things like "I am half Irish and half Italian" and when I asked where were their parents born they say "USA"! That makes them 100% American in my book. I understand that they have family that came from other countries and that is a part of their heritage. In Quebec we have French heritage and influence and the city has a Europeen vibe for sure but I have been to France several times and we are very different nations. Our language is the same but with differences kind of like the Americans and the British. If you ask an English speaking Canadian where he is from, chances are he will say CANADA. If you ask a French Canadian, he will most likely say QUEBEC. There is a lot of political issues between Canada and Quebec and I won't get into that but me personnaly I am proud to be a Quebecer AND a Canadian.

Thank you all for reading and for the great questions!This was fun for me!---------------

Sunday, July 24, 2011

It was not my day but it's OK.The weather was......PERFECT. No complain from me for that. It was overcast and in the low 70s.The course was a double loop, not my favorite, the one positive to that is I get to see the kids more during the race. It was 100% flat.Volunteers were GREAT.I will do this race again.Even with all this in my favor it still was not my day.

I still have major congestion, it sucks, I get the chills even when it is 90. I started the race really fast. I am still running races like I don't have a brain. I stop thinking for some reason. I knew this pace was too fast. I knew I could not run 10k at that pace and I still kept it. So I ran the first 5k faster then my best 5k in a race. Yep that is dumb. I ended up with "positive" splits of course.

At mile 4 I had a really bad cramp in my right calf. I had to stop and stretch, first time this happens to me in a race. I was able to get back in the race and run but not without pain. About one mile later I felt pain on my big toe..burning...and I knew I had a blister there (and I did...huge one on the side of the toe between big and 2nd toe..aouchy) Well great just what I needed...! But the icing on this crappy cake arrived at the end. With 0.5 mile to go...I got stopped at a light by a police officer who was directing traffic. What?????? Really???I was kind of alone and he let a group of 6-7 runners that were in front of me go and when I got there he decided to let cars go! Well thanks! I wonder if he did the same for the "elite" runners that were leading the race....I am betting on NO. I did stop my watch there. No way I am adding seconds to my time because of freaking cars! I know that I am not fast and I did not place in the top 3 of my AG but they should let everyone go even if they are isolated on the course.

So no PR for me. It is OK. It was also not my worst 10k, that would be hard to beat now!!I did 1:03:32.

My babysitter Rebekah, ran her first 10k with her dad who is an experienced runner and she finished with an impressive time of 54: something!I was really happy for her!

After the race I saw blogger Girrafy from 365 days of awesome and I went to say hello. Was nice to meet you !

Other than the police who made me stop, this race was pretty great, well organized and really nice folks working at all the stations and packet pickup.

Will be back with the conclusion of my Q&A for the next post!If you missed the first 3 parts you can find the links hereI am having issues with my blog.If you leave a comment, first thank you, can you tell me if you can see my sidebar on the right? Also were you able to see the video I posted here?

Pictures from the race:

Rebekah!

Mile 3

Someone was yelling on the side near the finish line and we all turned our heads!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Good news...on day 5, Will's fever finally went away. What a looooong week so far. I love him to death but he is the worst patient. "I don't know" is the answer to ALL my questions. I am just about to install a fine for each time my sons say "I don't know" or "Because".

I ended up skipping just one run this week, a 3 miles on Tuesday so yesterday instead of doing an easy 3 I went for 4 miles tempo and today 5 miles speedwork. I did 800s intervals for the first time. Those are HARD. 5x800. I used the McMillan chart to see what should be my target pace. It shows 4:25 to 4:37. I did 4:29, 4:29, 4:28, 4:28 and 4:30. I am happy with that. I think I will alternate 400s and 800s on my plan. There's no 800s on my plan but it will be good for me to add that.

Tomorrow, I have decided to rest as planned. I have a 10k race on Saturday. I expect it to be hard. My allergies are really bad, I still have severe congestion according to my Dr. It is very hard to breath. It will be hot. Not as hot as it is where I live though. Supposed to be 96 here and where the race is it shows 80 and some clouds. I love clouds! Bring on the clouds!!! My babysitter is going to run this with me. I expect her to go faster then me so I will try to stick by her as long as I can!-------------------Q&A Part 3.

What about your husband's job requires such insanely long hours? He is a Plant Manager for a company that makes plastic containers for places like Costco. They run 24/7 all year long. They recently added new lines and increased the volume of production and in the manufacturing world it usually means lots of problems. The company head quarters are in New Jersey and that is where all the engineers are also so the support for the California plant is limited.

Is your husband a big supporter of your running or does he just tolerate it? He is a big supporter of my running. He comes to all my races and he brings the kids with him. After I got sick in 2009, he got very worried about my health because I had lost so much weight and had 2 surgeries. The focus was all on my diet and how frustrating it is to live like that. When I started running the focus changed and that was a good thing for me and he is happy I have something that is just for ME. Did not make me gain a pound though...:)

Something that surprised you about being a parent? How HARD it really is to be a decent one. That I don't have all the answers. That my mom sacrificed A LOT for me and my brother.

Don't you wish Chris K would go on probation? Who is that again?? Just kidding, just kidding. Hmm some days yes like when he puts ME on probation... but most no because he does amuse me..I mean the guy refers to himself asswell and manly..Swell that is a funny word...no? Who says that "I am swell!"?

Why did you leave Canada and move to California? I left because I met my husband and he was from California. To have a life together, one of us had to move. He did not speak French, he had a better job and he was not willing to move to a place where the winters are over 6 mos long!

How do you juggle family, training, and life? Ahh the million dollars question. Family is first. My job is to be a full time parent. That comes before anything else including training. When I have my kids with me, I go to the gym and I run on the TM. At my gym, they have a kids gym and that is where the boys go while I do my run. On the weekend, I run outside. I get up very early to be back for breakfast. This year, both my sons will be in school. My youngest will go for the morning in Kindergarten and it will allow me to run outside a lot more. The life part...if you mean socializing with friends or going out... I don't do much of that. My boys are in sports so I have to take them to practices 4 times a week plus games on Saturday and I volunteer at their school 2 days a week. So no time left for social activities for me for now.

Do you miss the Montreal Expos? Do you have any idea who that is? Yes of course I know who they are! PLEASE! I have seen them play many times. I even had a friend who was a player on the team. He is now a sportscaster for the ESPN of Quebec. Do I miss them? Not really.

Why does my wife think she's always right? She does not think she is always right. She KNOWS she is. There's a big difference and your problem is you think she thinks she is. Here is the thing Jim...she is a woman. You have no chance in this debate. When you went to husband school didn't they teach you the classic :" Yes dear"???

What's your favorite Keith Urban song? So many good ones. OK I have to say Better Life because that is the one that started our family "Urban Story" and You'll think of me because it is the one that my son Will was singing when he was a mini part of Keith's tour. My boys they love Days go by.

I thought part 3 would be the last intallement but I have more questions to answer and I don't want this post to be too long and to bore you...so more to come in part 4!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

My older son has been sick...missed a run on Tuesday...will try to make up for it during the week...mommy duties are more important of course. Was supposed to rest Friday because I am racing on Saturday (10k) so we will see how it goes.

Are your sons nicknames "Coach" and "K"? Do they speak "Quebecois" or "Socal dudeze?"Yes I call them coach and K and they love it. No no...nicknames: Will and Jojo. They speak "American" that's how they say it. A little French, not enough for me. My older son told me when he was 4 that he will learn French when Daddy does!
Are your dreams in French or English? In French always. I also always count and cuss in French.

Is your Garmin set to miles or kilometers (or kilometres)? In Miles but the temperature reader in my car is in Celsius.

What is your favorite food item you can get in Canada but not the US. (I have MANY of these) I used to have many as well now I cannot eat any of it but these were some of the things: Ketchup chips, poutine, Dare Cookies, Meli Melo snacks, Coffee Crisp chocolate bars, Smarties, Aero, Cretons, Fondue parmesan, Joe Louis, Sugar Pie, Tourtiere. Anne is the only one who will know some of those!!!!

Is French your first language or do you just speak it? It is my first language and I have the huge accent to prove it! :)

How long did you date your husband before you got married? 13 months.

Do you talk to your husband about your blog or your blog friends? I talk to him about my blog friends but not my blog.

What is your favorite brand of running gear? Shoes: Mizunos. Clothes: Nike because they have racer tops that are long enough for me at 5'11" even in the smaller sizes.

Do you ever wish you had a girl? (I love boys, just curious) No! I always wanted to have boys only. I was so scared to have a girl and to raise a girl in Southern California. I am not girlie and I thought she would have hated having me as her mother

I got into Duke... would I have liked it? Why or why not? I don't know the answer. I did not go to Duke and I have never visited the campus. I would love to go one day though.

Would you like for your kids to go to a French-American school? Ah good question. I am not sure. I would like them to go to a school that offers French classes.

What did you like about basketball? Everything. I like being a part of a team. I liked shooting 3 pts shots right in front of the gal who would guard me. I do love coaching more than playing. I played all high School and College and I wasn't the star of my team but I was good enough to be on the starting 5. I started coaching when I was 18. I coached all levels; pee wee, all High School levels and College. I think I was a good coach. I had great success with my teams and I am still close to my players who are now mothers!

That is me on the right in the white shirt.This was like the State Championship

Did you ever get hit in the face with the basketball?Ha! Ha!..No never.Do you wear glasses or contact lenses?Glasses to read and watch TV.

Who is your celebrity crush?You mean crushES correct?1. Keith Urban. I just love him. I have met him 3 times, he is the nicest guy and my kids adore him so he wins for me, plus well he is so NOT ugly. I took that picture the day the kids met him in Pasadena.

2. Bradley Cooper. Look at that face.

3. Ryan Reynolds. What? I had to include a Canadian boy and he ran NYC and have you seen his abs? The kind of abs the The manly runner will need to beat EMZ in the abs contest.

And.... who is your blog crush :PIt is BDD. I think this is what he looks like and he does not want all the attention on him because of his good looks and that is why we never see a picture of him.

Monday, July 18, 2011

I completed week 5 of Half Marathon training for Disneyland. I had to run inside all week and got to go out during the weekend. I am pretty happy with my week considering that I was very tired and the family schedule has been pretty crazy because of my husband's insane work schedule. The poor me post on that is here.

Week 5:Mon 4 miles hillsTue: 3 milesWed 3 miles temp0Thu: 5 miles Speedwork 10x400Fri: restSat: 9 miles went really great.Sun: 3 miles recovery...wasn't great...stiff and pain in calf and groin.

Was supposed to run outside and get a mommy break today....but it did not happen. Will had a low fever yesterday and this morning was at 101 when he got up so I did not send him to camp even though by 8:30 he was down to 98.9 So we dropped Jonathan at camp and I went to the gym for 4 miles. Of course when we got home and I checked Will's temperature is was 98.2!!! And now he is asking to go in the pool!----------------

Thank you all for leaving such great questions for me!Here is part 1 of my answers! You can still leave me some questions here. Unlike other people who live not too far away from me, I will answer ALL the questions and I did not put anyone on "probation"

When was your first kiss? It was when I was in High School with a guy from the swim team. He was my first real boyfriend. He was 2 yrs older and my parents did not approve of us dating.

Did you always want kids?Yes always. I never thought of the possibility of NOT being a mom.

Were you a good kid or did you get in trouble a lot?? Boring good. Straight A student. On the swim team so too busy training to do anything dumb. Never smoked a cigarette or pot. Did not drink. I did not even drive until I was 25! My brother took care of the trouble for both of us!

Biggest trouble you've ever been in? One year, our coach decided to take the team to a training camp in Florida. My dad did not want me to go and he said he would not pay for it. I "forgot" the part about him saying I cannot go and decided to find the $ on my own. There was no way I was going to miss this, it was the training camp before the Olympic trials plus it was in Florida. So I told my coach about my dad not wanting to pay but not that he said I cannot go. I did the most fundraising out of all the swimmers and I raised enough to pay for my trip. I paid for it without telling my dad. Then came the monthly parents meeting. Well when my parents came home that night they were furious. I was grounded for a month and I had to paint the garage but I did go to the training camp.

You're an 18 month runner (kicking ass), if you had a flux capacitor and could go back to March '10 and tell yourself 2 things, what would they be?

1 Those are not running shoes, get a good pair of shoes, NOW. 2. You are capable of more than you know.

Are there any french phrases that you just cant seem to articulate well in English? Oh yes. I still translate in my head and sometimes it does not come out like it should. It happens a lot when I am frustrated. We have some expressions that have no real translation.

How do people from Quebec compare to people from California? Are we California's weird? Oh boy, is that going to put me in trouble? I said I would answer all questions..so OK. I should say that I lived in Quebec for 31 yrs and here for 11. Now this is only based on who I know and I have met of course. I think people in Quebec are less interested in what others have, how much money people make, the kind of car, size of houses and all that STUFF. Here people are very interested in STUFF and other people's STUFF, who has more than who. I remember my first day at work here, a group of people took me out for lunch, they asked to see my wedding ring, how much did my husband make, what kind of car he drives and the size of our house. I was shocked. Nobody would never ask any of this back home. The social standing is important here. Also Californians are always in a hurry. In Quebec the pace is slower, people enjoy the little things more.

Why are you a Duke fan? Did your husband go there? You are as passionate a fan of them as anyone I've ever met for any sport. My husband went to Cal State and Pepperdine. When I started coaching I developed a certain style like most coach do. I went to a coaching clinic and Coach K was a speaker and I wanted to be just like him as a coach. I love Duke because of their program and their coach. People can say all the crap they want, what they are doing there: and not because they get the freaking calls. They recruit to make a team, not just to get ONE superstar. They get players that will stay for 3-4 yrs and will graduate and they do that while staying in the top teams in the country. He talked a lot about having a relationship with his players and focusing on that over X and O and I was like that as a coach also. He said 2 things that I always remembered and this is over 20 yrs ago now. 1. "I don't look at myself as a basketball coach. I look at myself as a leader who happens to coach basketball. " and 2. “Making shots counts, but not as much as the people who make them.” Now I do also like the way they play the game. The way he coaches would have been a perfect fit for me as a player as well.

What is your favorite running moment?Crossing the finish line at the Carlsbad Half Marathon. It was my first half and I was so proud. I collapsed at the end and it was hard but in the end I cried tears of JOY.

What is my all time running dream goal? To have the courage to run a marathon.

Why Duke? Did you go there? I like the color blue. (Nelly asked that same question 3 comments above you). No I did not go there, I went to LAVAL Univeristy in Quebec.

What does Bill think of you Blogging?I don't really know actually. We don't talk about that much. He does not read my blog, well I don't think he does!

Will you Coach Bball again this year?Probably, because I coach my kids for now, I let them have a say in this.

Why is the WNBA still in existence? I don't get it. I have zero interest in it. They are not making any money..most teams are loosing some every year. I like to watch NCAA both men and women more then the NBA and I never watch the WNBA.

Can you vote? If so, do you generally vote Democrat or Republican, or, are you more non-partisan?I can only vote in Canada. If I could have voted in the last election, I would have voted for Obama.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

I was not planning on posting anything today but I have to!I went for 9 miles this morning.

It was my best LONG RUN ever.It was perfect.I am so happy.The weather was perfect: cool, no wind, no sun (well not really just a shy sun, now as I type this it is out for real!! )I got up at 5:15 am.I ran with my babysitter and her friend. 2 young 26 yrs old to keep me company, I loved it!They did 6 miles and I continued alone for the rest of my run.The 6 with them went by so fast. I was able to talk to them the whole time, no side pain.I drank NUUN only and took some sports jelly beans (watermelon with caffeine).I ran at a faster pace then last week's LR (8 miles), about 14 sec faster.I am not going to lie I felt GREAT saying goodbye to them and being the one who continues for 3 more miles...and being the older one. :)

-------------------Did you leave me a question for my Q&A?No? well please do, right hereThank you to those who did!!!-------------------

Chris K stole the idea from the lovely Colleen, yes yes I know Chris, with her blessing and he had the brilliant idea to ﻿turn this thing into a "blogger award". And then he had the nerves to put ME on probation over at his manly blog.

Whatever.

So how does this work? Very easy: ask me ANYTHING you want. I will answer.

I accept questions in English and in French.

There is no limit to how many questions one can ask.

It can be about anything; moving to the states, my life pre-wedding and pre-kids, health, motherhood, loosing weight, Duke, am I an American citizen, running, likes, dislikes...OK you get it.

I have to pass this to other friends

Kate because she is SUPER The so not boring AdamMichael because well Jim got it and she should do it also!!! My fellow Quebecer Anne

Oh and then you Missy, you did not think you could escape this one did you? Come on....my Arizona friend....your turn!!!

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A GOOD GOOD DAY

About Me

I am a French Canadian gal living in Southern California and I have 2 sons! Started this running thing in March of 2010 with the Race for the Cure and ran my first half marathon 10 mos later! I am now a Nuun Ambassador!
Contact me: carotabi@hotmail.com